Wednesday 23 May 2012

Review: Etiquette for an Apocalypse - Anne Mendel


It’s the 2020 Apocalypse and Sophie Cohen, former social worker turned neighborly drug dealer, must keep her family alive amid those pesky end of the world issues: starvation, earthquakes, plagues, gang violence and alas more starvation.She investigates a serial killing and takes down the sinister emerging power structure while learning to use a pizza box solar oven, bond with her chickens and blast tin cans from the perimeter fence with a Ruger 9MM.

In order to accomplish all this she must find a way to love her mother, accept her daughter’s adulthood and reignite her moribund marriage.

She might discover that a decentralized, consensus driven life—without fossil fuels, iPhones and chocolate éclairs—isn’t the end of the world, after all.

My thoughts:
That which  made me want to try this book was the cover, I mean look at it! So cool and weird, I love it.

It's the end of the world but some are struggling to survive (it helps having a genius for a brother who can make painkillers:) It's a new world where those with a skill has survived. Sophie sells drugs, but even in this bleak bleak world the book itself does not feel overly bleak. Because the book is so much more than just another dystopic apocalyptic story. It's a story about a mother trying to do right by her daughter, a girl becoming a teenager in this kind of world. Oh yes she is not happy. About a marriage that is not as passionate as it used to be. And it's not easy to be loving when you have nothing to eat and people die around you left and right. And last, dealing with a mother who does not want to accept that the world has changed.

But the family drama and issues aside the book is also a bit of a mystery as women are being murdered and Sophie wants to find out who is doing it. Because no one else care. And by digging around in things she should not more happens, I can't go into details but it gets exciting.

A bleak world about a family trying to cope. It has this certain feel to it, bleak yet so normal. Many apocalyptic books are awesome, but in the end they are just so freaking big. So much happened, the world has changed too much. Here it feels like this could happen. A supervolcano would just have to explode and that would send ripples through out the world. This is how people would try to get by.

Conclusion:
I have said it before, but a different sort of end of the world book, one that I enjoyed and one that felt like it was happening right now.

Cover:
Cool!

Genre: Apocalyptic
Pages: 276
Published: April 2012 by Bracket Press
Source: For review

50 comments:

  1. I didn't read your review, since i will be reviewing this and didn't want to influence my opinion. i just skimmed to the bottom to see if you liked it. :) I love the cover too and cannot wait to dive into it!

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    1. The cover made me say yes ;) I am so cover shallow sometimes

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  2. I LOVE the sound of this - it's so rare to find a book about 'normal' life post-apolyptise. I will definitely be looking out for this! :-)

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    1. Just your everyday apocalyptic day :) I do like reality

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  3. adorable cover. sounds like it's a little something new.

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  4. Uh oh! Just run as fast you can when you hear the end coming ;)
    I do like supervolcanoes cos they are so scary

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  5. I love that cover, too!

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  6. I don't usually read apocalyptic stories, but this one sounds a little out of the ordinary. And I have to agree, the cover is striking.

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    1. It's nothing like all those YA books out there. It's real and normal

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  7. Now you get why i had to read the book ;)

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  8. It doesn't sound like a very apocalyptic story but rather like a modern day story that takes place in the future. And I agree that the cover is very interesting. If I saw it in the store I would definitely pick it up.

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    1. Oh and I love that dog, sitting/lying next to her chair!

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  10. I love that cover! It is wicked awesome. And the more realistic approach to an apocalypse sounds interesting.

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    1. It made me realize that I would perish..I need to learn a skill

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  11. I love that cover and that title! I am going to have to pick this one up because it is right up my alley. How had I not heard of it---darn it!

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    1. I had not seen it around either before getting an email :)

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  12. I do like a good dystopian and this one sounds like something I'd really enjoy. I also love the mystery angle to it.

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  13. I think it was actually both cover and the name that made me want to read this book :) Glad you liked it, I'm looking forward to reading it when I have a chance!

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    1. True the title was just perfect too :D They sure did well there.

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  14. Thanks for the review. I hadn't heard of this book before and it sounds fantastic. I went right to Amazon and put it on my wish list. :D

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    1. Cool :D I hope to have the author over one day in the future too

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  15. I have to say that cover caught my eye too. And I like that it's a different read with Apocalypse to it. Sounds great! :D

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    1. The cover is too cool for school..oy I am lame, lol

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  16. This sounds good and I really like that cover.

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  17. First time hearing about this one and the cover is so different from other apocalyptic books.

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  18. Sounds awesome! I love the ones that despite the enormity of the events and the world, feel like they could actually happen and be real:)

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    1. It sure feels real. And I would not want to be there when it all goes to hell. I'd miss the little things

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  19. Glad you enjoyed, and you are right, that cover is weird, but attractive.

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  20. OK, you've talked me into it! The cover is a definite seller, but so is your review! :D

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  21. I'm really enjoying the cover. lol

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  22. Totally agree, cool cover and yep something a little bit different is not a bad thing ... I like post apocalyptic

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    1. I like it too, scary and possible. And always different

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  23. That is an eye-catching cover!

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  24. I definitely have a dystopian challenge so I need all the recommendations I can get. I like that this one is different. Mother/daughter story really draws me in. Great review.

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    1. It's not dystopian on all accounts, but it's there, a more hidden version and a possible new one

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  25. I like the idea of this book, post-apocalyptic but life goes on. And yes that cover is fab!

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  26. This is a new-to-me author and a new-to-me book... thanks for bringing it out to the light! :)

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  27. The cover is far out!!!

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